Making a Living in the Arts Is Fiendishly Hard–By Design

Making a Living in the Arts Is Fiendishly Hard–By Design

Those who follow me here and on social media might be familiar with this graphic: The takeaway is that of the roughly one million American authors, only 2500 earn a full-time income from their writing. A lot of aspiring authors were discouraged by that figure, but it's actually an improvement…
December 30, 20166 Comments

Self-publishing Costs: One-time Payment or Percentage of Royalties?

As an indie author I wear two hats: writer and publisher. These two job roles involve complementary but markedly different responsibilities and mindsets. A writer's job is to produce the best writing possible so that readers will be pleased. A publisher's job is to get the author's writing into readers'…
December 27, 20162 Comments
There Will Be No SFF Reconciliation

There Will Be No SFF Reconciliation

Only replacement of the intellectually, morally--and often physically--sick post-Campbellian fans, editors, and publishers who came to dominate the field in the 1970s. The SFF "Field" Baen author Brad R. Torgersen relates his experiences with the SJW monoculture in SFF: The mandarins of SF/F expend a lot of energy wrapping themselves…
August 29, 20168 Comments
Hockey with Astronauts: Reactions to my Amazon Author Earnings Graphic

Hockey with Astronauts: Reactions to my Amazon Author Earnings Graphic

Reactions to the graphic I made comparing author earning levels to the populations of various areas and  groups caught my by surprise. The chart, based on Author Earnings figures for 82% of Amazon sales from May 2016 and the survey quoted here, drew a wide range of responses from aspiring…
July 12, 2016

Reader Mail: A Self-Publishing Primer

A new reader sends this request for help navigating the radically transformed publishing landscape: First off, I'd like to congratulate you on the success of the book bomb a couple of weeks ago, and I hope you continue to be successful in your writing career. I have a huge amount…
June 21, 2016
Why Indie Publishing Succeeded Where Indie Gaming Failed

Why Indie Publishing Succeeded Where Indie Gaming Failed

Indie game developers' quandary The topic of this post came to me after I happened upon a couple of videos on widely disparate subjects. While making my way through The Rageaholic's Hugo-nominated vlog series, I came across this episode explaining why hopes that indie developers will pull the video game…
June 13, 20169 Comments
A Defense of Big Publishing?

A Defense of Big Publishing?

Sci Phi Journal editor, 2015 Hugo nominee, and 2016 Hugo contender Jason Rennie raises some valid questions about my previous post on how big NY publishers are killing the traditional publishing industry. Hi Brian,  Just a thought (and a defense that might be offered so hopefully worth considering).  Big 5 publishers make up…
April 3, 2016
How Big Publishing Bias Drives Indie Growth

How Big Publishing Bias Drives Indie Growth

Is widespread political bias in big publishing enforcing a blacklist against openly conservative and libertarian authors? A few years ago, I would have greeted claims of publishers rejecting and blackballing writers based on ideological differences with skepticism. Sure, Manhattan, where all the big publishers congregate, has a pretty left wing…
March 28, 2016
Amazon Reviews and eBook Pricing

Amazon Reviews and eBook Pricing

Authors and bibliophiles alike should read this post by Larry Correia in response to an Amazon review for Son of the Black Sword. Your time is valuable, so if you're disinclined to following the link, the short version is that a reviewer gave Larry's book one star for the sole…
February 20, 20162 Comments